An Interesting Development
by Flowerheart7901
Summary: Loki returns to Earth and the Avengers, along with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., are sent to stop him. But what will happen when everything is not as it seems? Set after Thor: Ragnorok


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe**

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Tony Stark was bored. He hated sitting and listening to Ross go on about the week. Bla bla this. Bla bla that. That's all it was. Suddenly a large beeping monitor startled him from his thoughts. Ross looked at the monitor before looking at Tony with a grim look.

"Loki is back and from the amount of heat signatures, he has brought an army of over four thousand. They are camped out in Norway. Assemble the Avengers, and I mean everyone. Bring Lang and Barton off house arrest for this and try and find the Rogue Avengers. If they help with this, they will be allowed to leave without getting caught."

Tony looked at him shocked. "Are you completely sure that's what's happening?"

Ross nodded. "This monitor was outfitted to be able to pick up Loki's signature, in case he ever came back. It is him."

"Why would he come back?" Tony asked, completely floored.

Ross shrugged. "He probably wants to finish what he started. Meeting dismissed."

Tony sighed and picked up his bag, before exiting the meeting room. As soon as he was out of the room, he pulled the phone T'Challa gave him out of his pocket and dialed his number. T'Challa picked up right away, waisting no time in answering.

_"Mr. Stark. What is it that you want?"_

_"Loki is back. He has brought an army of four thousand with him. Ross wants all the Avengers to work on this one. He says if the Rogue Avengers help, they will be able to leave with no consequences. Will Wakanda's army help us?"_

_"I will help you Mr. Stark. I can also contact the Rogue Avengers. I also have one more fighter. Before Mr. Rodgers left, he turned Mr. Barnes over to us so my sister could work on getting the trigger words out of his brain and it worked. I am sure he will help as well."_

Tony hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket, before heading out the door towards his car. He would have a lot of work to do that night, in order to be prepared for the fight that tomorrow would bring.

* * *

_Twenty-four hours later..._

Tony Stark landed his plane in a seemingly abandoned field in Norway. Grass blew gently in the breeze, and a couple of birds flew threw the air. Despite its appearance of abandonment, the sensors on Tony's plane that registered four thousand head signatures, told a different story. Loki must have simply activated a shield to hide his army.

Peter Parker, the Vision, and Doctor Strange exited the plane behind Tony, having hitched a ride from New York. The grass nearby blew out, and War Machine landed. One of the Wakandan ships appeared suddenly in the sky, the pilot having disabled the cloaking, and landed next to Tony's ship. The doors opened, and out of the ship walked King T'Challa, Okoyo, and Bucky Barnes.

As the king headed over to Tony, his entourage following him, he held out his hand. Tony quickly and firmly shook it, but ignored Barnes' existence, still pissed over the death of his parents.

A Quinjet landed and its doors opened to reveal Sam, Clint, Scott, Hope, Wanda, Steve, and Natasha. The larger group headed over to join the others that were already present. Steve held out his hand, which Tony shook, but quickly turned away from his former friend. Another Quinjet appeared out of the sky, landing next to the two currently parked planes, and making those already there jump back in surprise.

"Did you know about others coming?" Bucky asked, speaking for the first time since he got there.

Tony shook his head. "I was told we were the only ones coming. The more the better though, if we are going to be taking on Loki."

The door opened, and Melinda May, Daisy Johnson, Leopold Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso Mackenzie, and Elena Rodriguez.

The minute Natasha spotted May climb off of the Quinjet, she ran over to her and pulled the other woman into a tight hug, elated to see one of the few real friends she had made during her time at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Off to the side, Simmons and Daisy whispered among themselves.

"I can't believe we're in the presence of the real Avengers!" Daisy whisper screamed to her best friend. "Its every fan girl's dream come true."

Simmons nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to talk to Tony Stark. The conversations we could have about bio engineering could go on for days."

"Why are you here?" Natasha questioned May, after they broke apart.

May grinned slightly. "Well the director heard about the situation and decided we should help. He also has a grudge to settle with Loki."

Natasha frowned. "Fury? What grudge does he have except for Loki killing Coulson?"

May smiled. "Not Fury."

Phil Coulson walked out of the Quinjet, causing all the Avengers who had been there at the time he was killed, to jump back in shock. "I think my grudge is more personal than Fury's."

Clint stalked over to the Quinjet, a look of anger on his face. Before Coulson could say anything to the former S.H.I.E.L.D., Clint pulled his fist back, and punched him soundly in the jaw. Reeling back from the powerful punch, Coulson smiled. "I missed you too Clint."

Before anyone could react, a woman walked out of the barrier. She had darker skin and long brown hair that fell in waves down her back. She wore white armor all over her body, with streaks of gold all through it, white boots, and a blue cape, and had knives strapped to her. From the way she walked, it was obvious she was drunk as well. At her sudden appearance, all the Avengers turned around and trained their guns on her, not sure if she was a threat or not. She smiled. "Now what can I help you with?"

Steve stepped forward, falling back into the familiar role of a leader that he had occupied for several years. "We would like to talk to the prince."

She poked her head back inside the forcefield, before speaking to whoever was standing on the other side. "They would like to talk to the prince. Yes you. Yes I am sure that's what they said. Just come out."

Frowning, Loki stepped out of the forcefield to stand next to the woman. He was dressed completely different, less regally, than the last time any of the Avengers had seen him. Previously, he had been wearing a dark green top, with gold throughout and black pants, with black boots. On his arms had been gold armor pieces and he wore a dark green cape with a large gold crown, and had wielded a large staff. Now, he was dressed in a dark green top and pants, with black boots. On his hands were black fingerless gloves, and streaks of gold threaded his sleeves. A long, dark green cape was attached to his back, and he wore no crown on his head and was completely weaponless, though Tony suspected he had knives hidden places. In response to his appearance, all the weapons were instead trained on him. The woman stepped foreword in response, her sword appearing out of nowhere, and the knives in her hand, ready to defend Loki.

Loki frowned. "Easy Valkyrie. Their response is expected."

Valkyrie lowered her sword, scoffing slightly, obviously not extremely happy with Loki's order to her.

Tony growled. "Enough games, Reindeer Games. What have you done with Point Break?"

Loki looked confused at Tony's nicknames, before Steve stepped foreword, deciding to take pity on the Asguardian. "What Tony means is what have you done with Thor?"

Loki's confusion vanished at Steve's explanation, before he leaned back into the forcefield. "Heimdall. Where is my brother? Well, tell him to hurry up."

A few moments later, Thor walked through the barrier. His appearance shocked the Avengers. His beard was shaved and one of his eyes was missing, with an eye patch over it. He wore armor all over his body, that stopped at the shoulders and a dark red cape. "What is so important brother that I have to come here right away?" He asked, stopping when he noticed the Avengers standing in front of them. Turning to Loki, Thor told him. "You should probably go get our other friend."

Loki disappeared back into the forcefield, leaving the Avengers lost for words. A couple of moments later, he reappeared, this time with a slightly confused looking, Bruce Banner.

"Bruce?" Tony asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's kinda a long story. We should probably go somewhere to talk."

"I agree." Thor said nodding. "There is much to discuss. Brother, if you will."

Loki nodded, and after a few waves of his hand, bright red, cushioned chairs appeared in the field, arranged in a circle.

Thor sat down, before turning to the assembled Avengers, who all took a seat, while Valkyrie remained standing behind Loki and Thor. "What do you want to know?"

"First off, what the hell Thor?" Tony exclaimed. "Why did you bring Loki and an army to Earth?"

Thor, Loki and Bruce looked at each other with bemused expressions. Loki sighed. "It's not an army."

With a wave of his hand, the forcefield disappeared. In its place, instead of revealing a large army, ready for battle, there were families. Men, women and children, all huddled together, looking more like refugees than any sort of army. A young girl, about five years old, with long brown hair and wearing a blue dress, ran up to Loki.

"Prince Loki, Those people are scaring me. Why do they have their weapons up? You and King Thor will protect us right?" She asked, tugging on his cape and staring up at him with her big eyes.

Loki smiled down at the little girl. "It's alright. We won't let them hurt you. Go back to your mother, okay."

The little girl nodded and ran back, ducking behind a nearby woman. Loki quickly put the forcefield back up, shielding the families from the Avengers. "Now they can't see us and we can't see them but they can still hear us."

The Avengers stared back at the Asguardians, looks of shock written all over their faces. The silence was deafening for what seemed like an eternity, until Steve finally broke the silence. "But why are they here?" He asked, voicing the question that was on everybody's minds.

Loki and Thor looked at each other, communicating with their eyes, before Thor finally explained. "Our father died recently and with his death, released our sister Hela from her prison. If you thought Loki was bad, she's worse and the Goddess of Death. Her power is tied to Asguard, the longer she is there, the stronger she grows. The only way to stop her was to bring about Ragnorok, the prophecy foretelling the destruction of Asguard. Our people had no where else to go. Asguard is destroyed."

Loki, who had been sitting silently the entire time and observing the conversation, looked up, sadness etched in his eyes. "None of you know the full story behind the Battle of New York." He revealed.

All of the Avengers eyes snapped to Loki, their suprise evident for what would not be the last time that day.

Loki turned to Thor. "Brother, what color have my eyes been your entire life?" He asked.

Thor gave him a confused look at the odd question. "Green. What are you getting at brother?"

Loki turned to Natasha. "Romanoff, what color where Barton's eyes when he was brainwashed?"

"Blue." Natasha answered him, not understanding what the question was about.

"And what color are his eyes now?" Loki continued.

Natasha's eyes went wide, realizing where Loki was going with the questions. "Brown."

"Barton. What color were my eyes during the battle of New York?" Loki asked, turning to Clint.

Clint's eyes went wide at well, realizing what Natasha had realized. "Blue."

Realization dawned on Tony Stark's face. "The Mind Stone. It glowed blue when it was in the scepter. And your eyes were blue even when you had bonds on you that prohibited your magic. You were hypnotized. Just like Clint."

Thor turned to his brother, confused. "When did you get unhypnotized?"

"When you took my back to Asguard." Loki told him. "The guards who shoved me into my cell were a little harsh. I was knocked out and that unhypnotized me." Loki sighed. "I never wanted to rule Midguard. I never wanted to rule Asguard. All I ever wanted was to be seen as Thor's equal."

Heimdall, who had come out from behind the forcefield at some point and had joined them by the chairs, chuckled. "When Loki actually ruled Asguard, it wasn't bad. Maybe a little too much focus on the arts and a little bit narcissistic but the people were happy and we were at peace. All the people love him now, ever since he brought the ship to save us on Asguard."

Loki chuckled. "I did better than Thor. In the three days he has been king, he destroyed our home and made our people refugees. I may have tried to kill Thor multiple times, even before I was hypnotized but I have always cared for our people."

Their little meeting was interrupted by a military plane landing near by, the colors of the United States painted across its side. The plane door opened, and Ross emerged, along with the president. "Thank you Mr. Stark. We will take Loki into our custody." He said, turning to Tony. But to Ross's surprise, the Avengers blocked his way. "What are you doing? He is a villain who is trying to conquer earth." Ross protested.

Loki and Thor pushed their way to the front of the group, facing Ross and the president. Loki glanced at his brother.

"Brother. Let me talk to him. I'm the reason he sent the Avengers." Thor nodded and stepped back. "I understand why you want to arrest me but I would like to tell you, I was not myself when I attacked New York. I was hypnotized, just like Agent Barton. But I assure you, I am not hypnotized now nor am I trying to take over Midguard. I don't have an army." Loki waved his hand, briefly lowering the forcefield to show the scared families and then put it back in place. "My people are refugees, all we want is asylum. We would like a small piece of land to establish a town. We would follow your laws and we would pay taxes. We would even become citizens of whatever country we would live in. We have very few soldiers with us. The majority of our people are women and children. That is all I am asking."

Ross looked at him, a sneer on his face. "I don't believe you. What I will do, is arrest all of the people you are with. They will be kept indefinitely until they get trials. You on the other hand, are going to be put in the darkest cell in the farthest corner of the world."

Reaching out, Ross tried to grab Loki's arm, only to be met with surprise and anger when his hand went straight through Loki. Loki rose up into the air, riding Valkyrie's pegasus, before shouting down to Thor.

"Get the people out of here."

Thor nodded and began to usher the people onto the various planes that were scattered around the field. Coulson and T'Challa both pulled out their phones, barking orders for more planes to arrive to evacuate the people to Wakanda, where it would be safe. Loki landed the pegasus gently, who flew back to Valkyrie, before glaring at Ross.

"I don't know who you are, but I can't believe this is how Midguard treats its refugees.

Ross chuckled. "You aren't refugees. You're aliens. Those people are just an illusion. When the time comes, they will drop the illusion and attack Earth's people. I would be an idiot to believe you, after what happened the last time you were here." He turned to Tony. "Loki must have Thor under some kind of spell. Its the only way he would know that you would listen to him. You're supposed to be a genius, Stark. I can't believe you fell for this."

"We're not the idiots Mr. Ross. You are." Peter said, coming to stand in front of Loki. "Those people are obviously scared. How can you think they're a danger?"

Ross growled under his breath. "Oh for the love of god." He muttered, before pulling out a phone and barking into it. "Deploy the cannons. We'll take down this villan if its the last thing we do."

As the weapons on the plane began to load up, the Avengers glanced at one another before rolling their eyes.

"Who wants to take this?" Tony asked, gesturing to the plane.

Thor cracked his knuckles. "I will." Before shooting solid lightening out of his hands, incarnating the weapons completely, and causing Ross' jaw to drop. "C'mon brother. Let's get our people to safety."

Loki smiled and followed Thor to the plane, blowing a mocking kiss to Ross as he left, before boarding the plane to head to Wakanda, and safety for his people.

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